Beneficial effects of medical advice provided to elderly persons under the anti-aging health check-up system at Tokai University Tokyo Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Tokai University Tokyo Hospital implemented its holistic anti-aging health check-up system in June 2006. This system is characterized by more than 70 check items and the provision of individual post-diagnostic advice of far greater detail than an ordinary health check-up. We analyzed aging-related changes in subjects who had completed their second check-up in order to determine the difference before and after coaching type of medical advice.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five recipients of the anti-aging health check-up at Tokai University Tokyo Hospital between June 2006 and April 2008 were included (15 males 10 females, mean age 65.1 ± 9.6 years, average check-up interval 12.5 ± 1.6 months). Based on the results of the first check-up, written advice on issues including diet, exercise, rest (sleep), smoking, alcohol intake, and supplements was provided by nutritionists, supplement advisers, and trainers specializing in Sports Medical Science in Tokai University. Besides this, doctors specializing in anti-aging medicine provided comprehensive coaching. Changes in BMI, abdominal girth at navel level, pressure wave velocity (PWV) and serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), adiponectin (Adi) and free testosterone (in males) were expressed as % basal change and compared in the first and second check-ups.

RESULTS: A year after the coaching, Adi and HDL-C both increased significantly while PWV tended to decrease. However, BMI and abdominal girth were unchanged. DHEA-S showed a rising trend while free testosterone also increased significantly.

CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the coaching type of medical advice provided in the anti-aging health check-up potentially mitigates aging-related detrimental changes, bringing some benefits to elderly persons.